President of Estonia emphasized the importance of maintaining sanctions on Russia

Thursday, May 18, 2017 2:01:00 PM

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid accentuated the importance of maintaining sanctions against Russia, in an exclusive interview with the DW program ‘Nemtsova Interview.’

"We can say that the whole security situation in Europe is unpredictable and changeable. There is Russia, which has already shown that it is ready to use force. I am speaking of the occupation of the Crimean peninsula. Besides, we know that Russia does not fulfill its international obligations which it had assumed. Let's take, for example, the Budapest Memorandum or the Minsk Agreements. The Minsk Agreements are being constantly violated, and, therefore, sanctions against Russia must remain in force," Kaljulaid stated.

According to Kaljulaid, Russia does not pose a physical threat to Estonia, because Russia, she said, "would not attack a country that is part of NATO." At the same time, Kaljulaid spoke in defense of a NATO battalion deployment in Estonia and the ‘Spring Storm’ exercise, in which 9,000 soldiers from partner countries participate.

"Our signal is a defensive position. Just like NATO is a defensive organization. The Estonian army is called the Estonian Defense Forces. On this side of the border, no one poses a threat to anyone. The Alliance successfully provides adequate deterrence 100% of the time, and that is exactly why I think no one will attack NATO. But that in itself explains why it is necessary to ensure an adequate level of deterrence to protect all member countries of the alliance," Kersti Kaljulaid explained in an interview with Zhanna Nemtsova.